Of the Same Essence as the Father

Heresies have plagued the church throughout its history; they go out from the church but are not of the church. Arianism is perhaps the most well-known heresy, reincarnated in modern times as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Arius denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, asserting that he was the son of God, higher than any man, yet created, not eternal, and subordinate and inferior to God the Father. Arius’ teaching grew in popularity and pervaded the early church, to the point that Athanasius, Arius’ primary opponent, earned the title, “Athanasius Contra Mundum,” or “Athanasius Against the World.” In fact, Constantine, the contemporary Roman emperor, convened the Council of Nicaea, one of the largest ecumenical councils in history, to address the Arian heresy. The result was the Nicene Creed, which declared the Lord Jesus Christ [to be] the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages. . . begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.

The italicized phrase is homoousios, while Arius asserted Christ was homo-i-ousios, or of a similar essence. Hence, the early church’s victory over Arianism hinged on a single “iota,” literally.

Thus, God preserved the church and helped it to overcome an insidious teaching, but does it matter? Is Arianism really insidious? Was it necessary to call together church leaders from throughout the empire? Or for Athanasius to write an entire treatise (On the Incarnation) and faithfully resist the false teaching, even to the point of 17 years of exile under four different emperors? The Bible answers with a resounding “yes.” Scripture reveals Jesus to be fully God and fully man and further emphasizes the absolute necessity of such a teaching for the Christian faith, primarily the redemptive work of Christ.

Arianism spurns the authority of Scripture; it ignores the plain truth of God’s Word. The Bible is not indifferent about the divinity of Christ, but rather asserts that he is God and does not leave room for interpretation or debate. The gospel of John offers the most evidence for the godhood of Jesus. The beginning of John mirrors the beginning of Genesis:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2 ESV).

“Word” here refers to Jesus, the Logos, who existed both as and with God in the beginning, before creation. Jesus, the Word, has always been God, and being eternal and immutable, will never change; therefore, even at the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, he is God.

Further, the seven signs and “I am” statements around which much of John is structured point to the deity of Christ. John records the miracles, or signs,

so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31 ESV).

Jesus performed signs to evidence his identity. And, each sign is accompanied with a declaration of his own deity through his “I am” statements, which look back to the theophany at the burning bush:

God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14 ESV).

Beyond John, the rest of the New Testament contains more wisdom. The gospels record incidents of Jesus accepting praise throughout his life, such as at the triumphal entry, which happens to be found in all four narratives, including John:

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet [Jesus], crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13 ESV).

If Jesus were not God, he would not be worthy of praise and worship. And if he accepted the underserved worship and stole glory from God, he would have sinned.

To conclude, here are a few other prominent Scriptures that teach the divinity of Christ, especially Pauline passages. In Philippians, Paul writes, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:5-6 ESV). And in Colossians, For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19 ESV).

While Arianism denies the deity of Christ, Docetism (from a Greek word meaning “seem”) rejects the full humanity of Christ. Gnostics embrace this heresy, because they refuse to accept that the holy God could dwell on an earth that they believe to be absolutely evil. Docetism teaches that Christ was God, but holds that he only seemed human. It claims he was merely a phantom, or a ghost, or something physical but of some otherworldly substance.

However, like Arius’ teaching, Docetism falls apart under the scrutiny of Scripture. God’s Word describes Jesus Christ as human. “Incarnation” literally means the act of putting on flesh. Christ was born of the Holy Spirit (divinity) and of Mary (humanity) (Luke 1:35). He “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14 ESV). He was “born in the likeness of man . . . being found in human form” (Philippians 2:7-8 ESV). He lived a human life: he ate and drank (Luke 7:34). His feet were dirty after a day of walking on dusty roads and required washing (Luke 7:45; John 12:3). When he visited with the woman at the well, he was weary and desired to sit down and have a drink (John 4:6-7). He needed sleep and even slept during a violent storm (Mark 4:38). He felt immense grief at the death of his friend, Lazarus, to the point of weeping (John 11:35). He was tempted by Satan himself (Luke 4:1-12), about which the author of Hebrews, writes

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 ESV).

When he was crucified, he bled (John 19:34), and the nails left scars in his hands (John 20:27).

Therefore, Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, is not a ghost or a celestial vessel. He is a human. He was born in the flesh, lived, and died. He ate, drank, slept, and wept. He endured stronger temptation than most Christians. And he experienced tremendous physical pain, which left his body scarred and bruised.

But, again, why does it matter? Why did the early church fathers go to such extreme lengths to weed out Arianism? Because they recognized the deleterious magnitude of any deviation from the biblical truth. They understood that any compromise was, in fact, catastrophic to God’s redemptive plan. Scripture teaches that if Jesus was either not fully God, or not fully human, he then died in vain.

On the one hand, the once-for-all sacrifice that the justice of God required to appease his wrath at the sin of men required a sinless offering, exactly as the Old Testament law required a lamb without blemish. If the sacrifice were tainted by sin, the death would only serve to atone for the offering’s iniquities and could not atone for the sins of those for whom he was led to the slaughter. And here lies the necessity of a divine sacrifice. Paul clearly writes that no man is free from sin, that all fall short of the glorious standard set by God’s law (see Romans 3). Hence, for Christ to have lived a sinless life, which is absolutely necessary for the salvation of men, as Scripture unquestionably teaches he did, he must have been God.

If the deity of Christ is denied, his perfection must also be denied. And if his perfection is denied, his death accomplished nothing and there is no hope of salvation.

On the other hand, the substitutionary atonement upon which salvation depends requires the sacrifice of one who is of the same nature as those for whom he is the substitute. Christ cannot be the propitiation for God’s wrath on entirely discrete entities. Just as Adam appropriately served as mankind’s federal head, because he was an accurate representation of mankind, Christ must perfectly represent mankind if any are to be justified through his death and resurrection. If Jesus were not fully human through his incarnation, he cannot serve as humanity’s federal head. And if he is not qualified to represent his flock, his sheep have no hope of redemption.

A citation from the mouth of God can describe the salvific work of Christ and conclude better than any words human hands apart from the power of the Holy Spirit could ever pen:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:14-18 ESV).

It is precisely because Christ, the great high priest, suffered and endured temptation, while remaining faithful in service of God, which is made possible through the fact of his full divinity and humanity, a truth demanded by Scripture, that all who are predestined and called have hope of justification in Christ.